Review: NUGGS Spicy Plant-Based Nuggets

If you're new to plant-based protein, vegan chicken nuggets are a less-intimidating option to start with. It seems like nuggets are easier to replicate because chicken nuggets are so processed anyway.

I tried Boca's chik'n nuggets a few years and they were pretty good. I heard some buzz about NUGGS and wondered how they would stack up.

The NUGGS website calls their plant-based nuggets, "The Tesla of Chicken" that are "engineered with the world's most advanced nugget technology." (It must be fun to work on their marketing team!)

I have to say these were even better than other vegan nuggets I've tried. They really nailed the outside crispy coating. I also love that the spicy version is actually spicy. About twice as spicy as Boca's spicy chik'n patties.

I went in skeptical and ended up craving these. The same thing happened to me with Tofurky plant-based deli slices.

Another unique thing about NUGGS is they're always improving the recipe and post the updates like a tech product's release notes. It's kind of cool to read through the releases and see what changes they've made over time. This review is for NUGGS 2.0.

NUGGS Spicy Plant-Based Nuggets ingredients: 

Water, Soybean Oil, Textured Wheat Protein, Soy Protein Concentrate, Breadcrumbs, Wheat Flour, Corn Flour, Wheat Protein Isolate, Yeast Extract, 2% or less of: Modified Food Starch, Corn Starch, Tapioca Dextrin, Sunflower Oil, Potato Starch, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Methylcellulose, Sea Salt, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Calcium Chloride, Black Pepper, Red Pepper, Paprika, Dextrose, Natural Flavors

Review: NUGGS Spicy Plant-Based Nuggets

First impressions: Smells good

Taste: Spicy, chicken-y flavor. Reminds me of Wendy's spicy chicken nuggets, although I haven't had those in a long time. 

Texture: Very crispy

Can you tell it's vegan? Maybe
Better than other vegan options? Yes

Worth buying again? Yes

Overall: 5/5

Review: Tofurky Oven Roasted Deli Slices

I tried Tofurky's hickory-smoked deli slices earlier this year and ended up craving it more than I expected. I tried their oven roasted deli slices next.

These were very similar to the hickory-smoked slices. I'd have to try them side-by-side to notice a difference.

Tofurky makes other flavors of vegan deli slices, but the oven roasted and hickory smoked are the ones I usually see in stores.

I've been eating these Tofurky slices the same way I used to make turkey sandwiches. I lightly cook them in a frying pan to warm them up, add mustard, and eat on a toasted hoagie roll. These would probably taste great on your favorite sandwich too!

Tofurky Oven Roasted Plant-Based Deli Slices ingredients:

Water, vital wheat gluten, organic tofu (water, organic soybeans,magnesium chloride, calcium chloride), soy sauce (water, soybeans, wheat, salt), expeller pressed canola oil, natural flavors, sea salt, contains less than 2% of onion, carrot, celery, garlic, leek, lemon juice concentrate, cornstarch, garbanzo bean flour, white bean flour, rosemary extract, calcium lactate, potassium chloride.

Review: Tofurky Oven Roasted Plant-Based Deli Slices

Taste: Similar to turkey

Texture: Similar to processed turkey deli meat

Can you tell it's vegan? Maybe
Better than other vegan options? Yes

Worth buying again? Yes

Overall: 5/5

Review: Violife Just Like Cheddar Slices

Violife is one of the most recommended vegan cheeses I see on vegan food blogs. It's also used by a lot of vegan restaurants. So I thought this would be a good choice to start trying vegan cheese.

First of all I love their packaging. The inside plastic package is resealable and easy to open. It's also labeled, so you still know what it is if you get rid of the paper outside. 

I tried this both cold and melted. When cold, it was easier to tell that it's vegan. The texture is not quite there, but it does look and taste more like dairy cheddar cheese than I expected. 

Next, I tried it on a vegan egg sandwich with JUST egg. I tried melting it from the residual heat of the hot sandwich but that wasn't enough. The edges didn't melt and the texture was slightly gritty.  

I tried again but this time by I put the Violife slice on top of the JUST egg in the pan and covered with a lid. This worked a lot better and it melted all the way. I did get a funny giant bubble though.

Final verdict? Pretty good on a sandwich, but I wouldn't eat it by itself. 

Violife Just Like Cheddar Slices ingredients:

Filtered Water, Coconut Oil, Food Starch-Modified (Potato & Corn), Potato Starch, Salt (Sea Salt), Cheddar Flavor (vegan sources), Olive Extract, Paprika extract & Beta Carotene (Color), Vitamin B12.

Review: Violife Just Like Cheddar Slices

First impressions: Looks more like dairy cheddar cheese than I expected

Taste: Similar to cheddar cheese but doesn't have as strong of a flavor

Texture: Takes longer to melt than dairy cheese, but once melted the texture is similar

Can you tell it's vegan? Yes
Better than other vegan options? This is the first one I've tried.

Worth buying again? Maybe

Overall: 4/5

Review: Trader Joe's Protein Patties (Plant-Based Burgers)

I love that plant-based burgers are so trendy right now and so many companies are making their own version.

Trader Joe's has a lot of great vegan products so I had to try their plant-based burger patties. The packaging and ingredients are similar to Beyond Burgers, but unfortunately the taste and texture weren't on the same level.

These were oddly hard when uncooked and then too soft when cooked. They stuck to the pan and fell apart during cooking. I don't know if these would work on a grill because they fell apart so much.

Another difference is these are sold in the refrigerated section and say not suitable for freezing, so they don't last as long as the frozen plant-based burgers.

Trader Joe's Protein Patties Plant Based Burgers ingredients:

Hydrated pea protein blen (water, pea protein, pea fiber), sunflower oil, beets, natural flavors, methyl cellulose, oat fiber, fruit juice (color), onion powder, sea salt, vegetable juice (color). 

Review: Trader Joe's Protein Patties Plant Based Burgers

First impressions: Harder than I expected when uncooked

Taste: Close to Beyond Burger but a little bland

Texture: Fell apart, kind of soft and mushy

Can you tell it's vegan? Yes

Better than other vegan options? No

Worth buying again? Probably not

Overall: 3/5

Review: Yves Veggie Ham

I tried Yves plant-based ham and to me it seemed a lot more like salami than ham. It looks, smells, and tastes similar to salami. 

Maybe I didn't like this because I don't like salami very much? I tried it on a sandwich and that was ok. I finished the sandwich but I didn't finish the package. 

So far my go-to for vegan lunch meat is Tofurky plant-based deli slices. I haven't tried their ham version yet though. 

Yves Veggie Ham ingredients:

Water, vital wheat gluten, tofu (water, soybeans, magnesium chloride), wheat starch, textured wheat protein, natural flavors. contains 2% or less of: spices, onion powder, garlic powder, organic cane sugar, salt, yeast extract, carrageenan, tomato lycopene extract for color (contains soy lecithin), ferric orthophosphate (iron), vitamin b12, citric acid.

Review: Yves Veggie Ham

First impressions: They should call this salami instead of ham

Taste: Kind of like salami

Texture: Also similar to salami

Can you tell it's vegan? Yes
Better than other vegan options? No

Worth buying again? No

Overall: 3/5

Review: Trader Joe's Vegan Caesar Dressing

Trader Joe's has a few different vegan salad dressings in the refrigerated section of the produce, including green goddess and turmeric ginger. Their new vegan Caesar dressing is the first one that's a plant-based version of a traditionally non-vegan salad dressing.

This was highly recommended on vegan Twitter and even by the cashier when I bought it.

So maybe my expectations were too high, but I didn't really like this. It has some similar flavors to caesar dressing and is a little creamy, but it wasn't close enough for me.

The capers are close to the taste of anchovies, but were a little overpowering. It's also missing the cheesy parmesan taste. I just tasted the tofu and capers.

Luckily there are tons of other vegan salad dressings to choose from. My go-to is Brianna's French vinaigrette. If you're looking for a creamy vegan salad dressing, you might like Trader Joe's green goddess dressing or a tahini salad dressing.

Trader Joe's Vegan Caesar Dressing ingredients:

Tofu (water, soybeans, glucono-delta-lactone, magnesium chloride), olive oil, water, lemon juice, organic white miso (organic soybeans, organic rice koji [organic rice, koji spores (aspergillus oryzae)], sea salt, water), garlic, organic dijon mustard (water, organic mustard seeds, organic vinegar, salt, organic turmeric, organic cinnamon, organic ginger), capers (capers, water, salt, distilled vinegar), white wine vinegar, sea salt, shiitake mushroom powder, black pepper. 

Review: Trader Joe's Vegan Caesar Dressing

Taste: Tofu + capers

Texture: Creamy but not very thick

Can you tell it's vegan? Yes
Better than other vegan options? No

Worth buying again? Not for me

Overall: 3/5

Review: Alden's Dairy Free Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches

I loved the Alden's Dairy-Free ice creams that I tried (Muddy Brownie and Caramel Almond Crunch) so I wanted to try their ice cream sandwiches next.

These were so good.

Other vanilla vegan ice creams that I've tried tasted too much like soy or coconut. Usually chocolate or other strong flavors are better for dairy-free ice cream.

But not these. I don't taste any coconut, soy, or mystery aftertaste that would give it away as being vegan. I want to try a pint of their dairy-free vanilla ice cream next because it is so good in these ice cream sandwiches.

The cookie part is also incredible. It tastes just like the ice cream sandwiches I had as a kid. But somehow it doesn't stick to my fingers.

These are thicker than I expected and sometimes that can make it hard to bite into. But the cookie and ice cream are both soft enough to bite into without falling apart.

Alden's also makes Dairy Free Caramel Drizzle Round Sammies that I want to try soon.

Alden's Dairy Free Vanilla Bean Round Sammies ingredients:

FROZEN DESSERT: Dairy Free Frozen Dessert Blend* (Water, Cane Sugar*, Coconut Oil*, Tapioca Syrup*, Inulin*, Brown Rice*, Whole Oat Flour*, Acacia Gum*, Pea Protein*, Soy Lecithin*, Guar Gum*, Locust Bean Gum*), Natural Vanilla Flavor With Other Natural Flavors*, Ground Vanilla Beans*. COOKIE WAFERS: Wheat Flour*, Cane Sugar*, Palm Oil*, Caramel Color*, Contains 2% Or Less Of: Cocoa* (Processed With Alkali), Cane Syrup*, Soy Lecithin*, Salt, Baking Soda, Natural Flavor*. *Organic

Review: Alden's Dairy Free Vanilla Bean Round Sammies

Taste: Chocolate and vanilla from your childhood

Texture: Soft enough to bite into but doesn't fall apart 

Can you tell it's vegan? No

Does it look like the picture on the package? Yes, a little smaller though
Better than other vegan options? Yes

Worth buying again? Yes

Overall: 5/5

Review: Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Bun Dough Chunks

Ben & Jerry's new snackable cookie dough line has two vegan flavors: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Cinnamon Bun Dough. The Cinnamon Bun Dough doesn't say vegan on the front of the package but it is vegan.

I was expecting cinnamon flavored cookie dough even though it's called cinnamon bun dough. It's kind of like a hybrid of both. It's softer and less crumbly than cookie dough but it's closer to cookie dough than bread dough. Which is good because who eat's raw cinnamon roll dough? 

The cinnamon didn't taste that strong to me at first but it has a nice aftertaste.

I really liked these, but my boyfriend didn't like the texture. We both liked the Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. 

Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Bun Dough Chunks ingredients:

Wheat flour, sugar, water, coconut oil, expeller pressed soybean oil, cinnamon, natural flavor, pure vanilla extract, tapioca flour, sunflower lecithin, salt, baking soda.

Review: Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Bun Dough Chunks

Taste: Sweet with a hint of cinnamon that gets stronger as you eat more. 

Texture: In between cookie dough and bread dough. Soft and not crumbly. 

Can you tell it's vegan? No

Does it look the like the picture on the package? Yes
Better than other vegan options? I like the other flavor better.

Worth buying again? Yes

Overall: 4/5

Review: Alden's Dairy Free Muddy Brownie

Another Alden's dairy-free ice cream I tried is Muddy Brownie. I love brownie pieces in ice cream and this did not disappoint. 

The texture was super creamy and easy to scoop. The brownie pieces are chewy and soft and there are a lot of them. 

This flavor was a little rich because of all the chocolate. I couldn't eat very much at a time. Maybe that's a good thing though.

I also tried Alden's Dairy Free Caramel Almond Crunch. They were both delicious and I would buy them again. 

The competition in vegan ice creams is heating up. I now have 3 brands that I consider a favorite: Alden's, NadaMoo, and So Delicious. 

Alden's Dairy Free Muddy Brownie ingredients:

Dairy Free Frozen Dessert Blend* (Water, Cane Sugar*, Coconut Oil*, Tapioca Syrup*, Inulin*, Brown Rice*, Whole Oat Flour*, Acacia Gum*, Pea Protein*, Soy Lecithin*, Guar Gum*, Locust Bean Gum*), Fudge Brownie Pieces* (Cane Sugar*, Wheat Flour*, Soybean Oil*, Water, Cocoa* (Processed with Alkali), Corn Starch*, Sunflower Lecithin*, Salt, Natural Vanilla Extract*), Chocolate Base* (Sugar*, Water, Cocoa* (Processed with Alkali), Natural Flavor, Citric Acid, Salt).

*Organic

Review: Alden's Dairy Free Muddy Brownie

First impressions: Might have a new favorite

Taste: Rich and chocolatey

Texture: Creamy ice cream with chewy brownie pieces

Can you tell it's vegan? No

Does it look like the picture on the package? Yes
Better than other vegan options? One of the best.

Worth buying again? Yes

Overall: 5/5

Review: Alden's Dairy Free Caramel Almond Crunch

Alden's is an Oregon ice cream company known for traditional dairy ice cream. They recently came out with a line of vegan, dairy-free ice cream. They have 5 flavors of vegan pints plus non-dairy ice cream sandwiches. 

I tried two of their dairy-free ice creams: Caramel Almond Crunch and Muddy Brownie. 

I found these at Sprouts. You can use their website to see if a store near you carries them. Click "Select Specific Products" and check a non-dairy flavor because it looks like some stores only have their dairy flavors (for now).

The ice cream base of the caramel almond crunch has a buttery caramel taste and is so creamy. There's a crunchy texture from the tiny almond pieces. A swirl of sweet caramel is mixed throughout the ice cream. 

I loved the texture of both of the Alden's dairy-free ice creams I tried. Some vegan ice cream can be dense and not creamy. These both reminded me of old-fashioned ice cream from a mom and pop store. 

This is one of the more decadent vegan ice creams that I've tried. Another is So Delicious Salted Caramel Cluster. I can't say which is better. They're both very good and can satisfy your sweet tooth. 

Alden's Dairy Free Caramel Almond Crunch ingredients:

Dairy Free Frozen Dessert Blend* (Water, Cane Sugar*, Coconut Oil*, Tapioca Syrup*, Inulin*, Brown Rice*, Whole Oat Flour*, Acacia Gum*, Pea Protein*, Soy Lecithin*, Guar Gum*, Locust Bean Gum*), Non-Dairy Caramel* (Tapioca Syrup*, Water, Cane Sugar*, Pea Protein*, Natural Flavor*, Salt, Coconut Oil*, Pectin), Chocolate Chips* (Unsweetened Chocolate*, Cane Sugar*, Palm Kernel Oil*, Cocoa Butter*, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla Extract*), Roasted Almonds*, Caramel Base* (Sugar*, Water), Sea Salt, Natural Caramel Flavor*, Annatto Extract* (Color).

*Organic

Review: Alden's Dairy Free Caramel Almond Crunch

First impressions: Wow, this looks good.

Taste: Buttery caramel ice cream with a sweet caramel swirl

Texture: Creamy ice cream with crunchy almond pieces

Can you tell it's vegan? No

Does it look the like the picture on the package? Yes
Better than other vegan options? One of the best.

Worth buying again? Yes

Overall: 5/5

Review: Sweet Rose Coconut Whipped Topping

I've been looking forever for a vegan coconut whipped cream in an aerosol can. Finally Trader Joe's started carrying one! The brand is Sweet Rose but I've only seen it at Trader Joe's.

This dispenses just like non-vegan aerosol whipped cream. It even makes the same fun noise as you spray it.

I could taste the coconut but it was subtle. It didn't overpower the flavors of my ice cream. 

You could use this for anything that you would normally use whipped cream for. I made a sundae with Alden's Nondairy Muddy Brownie and Caramel Almond Crunch, and Ben & Jerry's vegan cookie dough pieces. 

Sweet Rose Coconut Whipped Topping ingredients:

Coconut cream, water, sugar, glucose syrup, inulin, mono and diglycerides, cellulose gel, cellulose gum, carrageenan.

Propellant: nitrous oxide.

Review: Sweet Rose Coconut Whipped Topping

First impressions: Resist temptation to spray directly into my mouth

Taste: Sweet, hint of coconut

Texture: Light, airy, fluffy

Can you tell it's vegan? No, unless you hate coconut

Worth buying again? Yes

Good enough to replace the non-vegan version? Yes

Overall: 5/5

Review: Trader Joe's Soft Baked Snickerdoodles

Trader Joe's has a lot of great vegan products. Their vegan soft-baked snickerdoodles are also gluten free and allergen friendly. 

These plant-based cookies are very soft and a little chewy. They're not dry or crumbly at all. 

They have some unexpected ingredients to keep them so soft and allergen-friendly (full ingredient list below). I can taste a subtle hint of fruit from the dates and fruit juice. 

These are so soft it's hard to compare them to other cookies. They're very good, but not what I picture when I think of snickerdoodles. They remind me more of molasses cookies even though they don't have any molasses in them. 

I was disappointed by how much plastic packaging there is. It doesn't seem necessary to have them in a tray. It was hard to open and not resealable. 

Trader Joe's Soft Baked Snickerdoodles ingredients:

Sorghum flour, brown sugar, dates, sunflower oil and/or safflower oil, pear juice concentrate, water, rice syrup, grape juice concentrate, flaxseed meal, baking soda, xantham gum, salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract (water, ethyl alcohol, vanilla bean extractives), natural flavors, rosemary extract (to preserve).

Review: Trader Joe's Soft Baked Snickerdoodles

First impressions: Soft baked is accurate, they are very soft. 

Taste: Sweet with a subtle fruity taste

Texture: Very soft, a little bit chewy

Can you tell it's vegan? Maybe
Better than other vegan options? Close but I think Sprouts has some better vegan cookies

Worth buying again? Yes

Overall: 4/5